Atherstone woman completing charity head shave in memory of a much-loved 'local legend'

An Atherstone woman will be shaving her head at the end of February to raise money for charity, as well as to honour the memory of a much-loved local man.

Debbie Prodger will be shaving off all her hair on Saturday, February 27 to raise money for Marie Curie and Mary Ann Evans, in the memory of Fred Baddeley who sadly passed away on Christmas Day 2020.

Fred, who was grandfather to Debbie's daughter-in-law Sian, died at the age of 86, and is greatly missed by both his family and the rest of the Atherstone community.

Fred had a stroke nine years ago, but in the final weeks of 2020 his health declined and he received end of life care from staff at both Marie Curie and Mary Ann Evans hospice.

Fred and his wife Mary, 83, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in March 2020. The couple have two children, three grandchildren, and a fourth great-grandchild is on the way, however Fred will sadly not meet them.

Having cared for Fred for a while herself, and having witnessed the work that the two charities did, Debbie has decided that she wanted to raise some money for both organisations.

Debbie said: "I said to my daughter-in-law that I wanted to do something, so I said I'm going to do a head shave!

"They were both absolutely fantastic with him.

"Obviously they rely on fundraising, they don't get any funding, so that's why I am doing it, to try and raise a bit of money for both charities, to help other families who are in need."

Debbie will have her head shaved at the end of the month, and is currently collecting funds through her JustGiving page. Although the page only has links to Mary Ann Evans, she is collecting for both charities.

Please click here if you wish to donate.

"The more help the family had off them, the more we realised what a fantastic job they are doing for families, and there may be some other family that needs that help that Fred got.

"Everyone in Atherstone would know who Fred was, he was a local legend."

Although Debbie has been planning the event for a while, the date has been set for the end of February.

"We left it as late as possible to see if things had lifted and we could go to a hair dressers!"

However, with lockdown looking set to continue for the foreseeable future, Debbie is left with the unenviable task of choosing whom is to actually cut her hair.

She has toyed with the idea of letting her grandsons (Fred's great grandsons) Sammy (6), Olly (8), and Ellis (11) do it.

"I did think of getting my grandsons to do it, given how close they were to their great granddad. Maybe I will get them to start it off and then get my son, Peter, to finish it!

"I'm just not sure what is worse, my grandsons or my son doing it!"

All joking aside, Debbie is clear that the money she raises is going to a worthwhile cause, one which she and her family have seen first hand.

"I understand, timing isn't great because people have been furloughed and people haven't got much money to give, so I understand that, but as much as possible will be great."

Having announced the event only a few weeks ago, she has already received £230 in online donations and a lot more in cash as well.

If you would like to support Debbie and Fred's family, please follow this link to her fundraising page.

If you would like to contribute but cannot do so online then please call Debbie on 07917186993.